Plasmonic catalytic reverse water gas shift reaction

The invention pertains in a first aspect to a plasmonic catalytic process for the reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction using a plasmonic catalyst comprising supported plasmonic metal nanoparticles, and to such a catalyst. An aspect of the invention pertains to a plasmonic catalytic process for the reverse water gas shift reaction (1) CO2 + Hz...

Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors to Quantify Temperature Non-Uniformities in Plasmonic Catalyst Beds under Illumination

Distinguishing between photothermal and non-thermal contributions is essential in plasmon catalysis. Use of a tailored optical temperature sensor based on fiber Bragg gratings enabled us to obtain an accurate temperature map of an illuminated plasmonic catalyst bed with high spatiotemporal resolution. Its importance for quantification of the...

Sunlight-Fueled, Low-Temperature Ru-Catalyzed Conversion of CO2 and H2 to CH4 with a High Photon-to-Methane Efficiency

Methane, which has a high energy storage density and is safely stored and transported in our existing infrastructure, can be produced through conversion of the undesired energy carrier H2 with CO2. Methane production with standard transition-metal catalysts requires high-temperature activation (300−500 °C). Alternatively, semiconductor metal...

Real-Time Monitoring of Size and Concentration of Nanoparticles Inside a Reactor Using Ultrasound

Nanoparticles are applied in an increasing number of products (e.g. medicine, food and cosmetics). There is a need to real-time monitor the growth of nanoparticles during production inside the chemical reactor. However, standard particle sizing methods such as dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cannot do...

The Influence of Particle Size Distribution and Shell Imperfections on the Plasmon Resonance of Au and Ag Nanoshells

Au and Ag nanoshells are of interest for a wide range of applications. The plasmon resonance of such nanoshells is the property of interest and can be tuned in a broad spectral regime, ranging from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared. To date, a large number of manuscripts have been publishedontheopticsofsuchnanoshells.Fewofthese,however,...

Highly porous, ultra-low refractive index coatings produced throughrandom packing of silicated cellulose nanocrystals

The use of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in optical materials has been extensively studied. Key in mostapplications reported to date is the chiral nematic ordering of CNCs. Here, we demonstrate that randompacking of silicated CNCs can also yield materials with interesting optical properties, i.e., highly porous,ultra-low refractive index...

A study on the optics of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) solar cells with ultra-thin absorber layers

We present a systematic study of the effect of variation of the zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) layer thickness on the absorption characteristics of CIGS solar cells using a simulation program based on finite element method (FEM). We show that the absorption in the CIGS layer does not decrease monotonically with...

Improving the efficiency of copper indium gallium (Di-)selenide (CIGS) solar cells through integration of a moth-eye textured resist with a refractive index similar to aluminum doped zinc oxide

Textured transparent conductors are widely used in thin-film silicon solar cells. They lower the reflectivity at interfaces between different layers in the cell and/or cause an increase in the path length of photons in the Si absorber layer, which both result in an increase in the number of absorbed photons and, consequently, an increase in...

Atmospheric pressure plasma enhanced spatial ALD of silver

The authors have investigated the growth of thin silver films using a unique combination of atmospheric process elements: spatial atomic layer deposition and an atmospheric pressure surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma source. Silver films were grown on top of Si substrates with good purity as revealed by resistivity values as low as 18μΩ...

A brief review of environmentally benign antifouling and foul-release coatings for marine applications

Antifouling coatings for ship hulls are a very important topic in coating research. They are essential with respect to fuel consumption of ships: without antifouling coating, biological species start to adhere to the ship's exterior, leading to a gradual increase in fuel consumption. To date, the working principle of most of the paint systems...

Single layer broadband anti-reflective coatings for plastic substrates produced by full wafer and roll-to-roll step-and-flash nano-imprint lithography

Anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) are used to lower the reflection of light on the surface of a substrate. Here, we demonstrate that the two main drawbacks of moth eye-structured ARCs-i.e., the lack of suitable coating materials and a process for large area, high volume applications-can be largely eliminated, paving the way for cost-efficient and...

Transparent conducting materials: Overview and recent results

An overview of different transparent conductors is given. In addition, atmospheric pressure CVD of ZnO resulted in conductivities below 1 mΩ cm for a temperature of 480°C, whereas at a process temperature of 200°C a value of 2 mΩ cm was obtained. Also atmospheric pressure spatial ALD was used to make conductive ZnO. Furthermore, the properties...